Taking suggestions now, please.

Well, the write-up was given in today, without much fuss, thank goodness, although a last minute change did involve me running around the building like a headless chicken, looking for a color printer. Not one reliable color printer in the whole darn building. Out of all those write-up rooms, offices, staff rooms, computer labs, libraries, and there's not a single color printer.

Sometimes the world doesn't make any sense at all.

But it's done, dusted, handed in. Am I happy with it? No. Did I think it was the best work I could have produced? No. In fact, was it even vaguely good? No. Could it have been distinguished from a pile of shite? No. Do I think I'll get a good mark for it? No. Do I actually care now? No.

So now, project time is officially over, and I'm flying out on a quick holiday tomorrow, to recuperate. I had a bit of hell with regards to the flights as I had to change the flights at the very last minute due to an airport strike at the other end, and the plane that I'm now catching is an indirect flight lasting a total of 7 hours. Instead of 2. Joy of joys.

Anyway. My supervisor, a course administrator and a two other BSc students and I all went for drinks in the coffee shop, which also happens to serve alcohol. It was really enjoyable, it was nice to wind back and just chat informally, though I'm still a little tense, but I guess that has to do with the recent lack of sleep and the long-ass plane journey tomorrow which I'm a little anxious about cos the changes were really last-minute and it sort of didn't seem very official.

BUT ANYWAY. I wrote this entry with a specific question in mind. I'd be grateful if my glorious readers in the blogosphere (yes, all three of you) could please help me out.

I want to get my overall supervisor a present, but I'm not sure what. The other BSc student got him a bottle of wine, but I haven't got the foggiest about alcohol, and I tend not to give alcohol or chocolates or eatables/drinkables as gifts.

I know that I don't want to get him a tie, cologne/aftershave or food/drink.

Things that I have been suggested so far which I'm not going to get are: ties, colognes/aftershaves, or food/drink.

Other things I have been suggested: a classy keyring / cufflinks / CD / book .

What do others suggest? Please let me know as soon as you can - I'm flying out tomorrow and if I can get the same thing from Duty Free, it'd be great!
T

I've got a job to do, there's no room for mistakes

Brownie points to anyone who can tell me which song the lyrics in my post title belong to.



Brownie points, too, to anyone who can commute here and do my goddamn write-up for me. Please. I'll give you blueberry muffins.



So. My project is due to be handed in on Friday.



This Friday.



As it stands, I have my discussion left to finish (about 3/4s of the way through so far,) my introduction to add bits to, and my references to sort out. Add to that, printing and binding. It doesn't help that my computer here doesn't run Write & Cite, EndNote OR RefWorks properly. Bastard machine. My supervisor has been an absolute life-saver. I sent him a draft of my introduction yesterday evening, and it was sitting in my inbox first thing this morning, corrections outlined and suggestions for improvement in the margin. I feel bad, because it's all very last minute and it's really not fair on him, especially as he's been asking to see drafts for the past few weeks, but he's really cool about everything.

It's totally my fault, of course. I had made drafts of everything, but I thought I'd try and get it all looking really good so that my supervisor would have to make a minimal amount of corrections, but yesterday I just thought, "Screw it," and went ahead and sent him the first copy of my introduction. And it still came back with plenty of corrections, so I don't know why I try so hard to not look stupid when it just comes so naturally anyway.

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On another note, our assessed presentations took place yesterday. I was scared shitless at the beginning (my hands wouldn't stop shaking) but overall it went well, though by the time I left the room, my back was absolutely covered in sweat (sorry to be so graphic.) At least it's out of the way - the question and answer session at the end seemed to go on for something that was just slightly short of an eternity.

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I'm stressing out at how I suddenly can't write. I'm also looking back and thinking on my mistakes. I just realised I spent five weeks using an antibody that was directed against an internal epitope on my cells, so it wouldn't have been detected in a million years anyway by flow cytometry. Still, I feel like a right pratt including that in my write-up in the discussion section. It maketh me cringe.



Because of general dumbassed-ness, I spent five weeks staining my cells for a particular receptor with an incorrect antibody, and then probably the same amount of time wondering why it wasn't staining positive. Not only this, but get a load of this, too: Once, I made slides of cells really carefully, but I actually managed to deposit the cells on the WRONG SIDE OF THE SLIDE, which, really, you have to just have a Masters in Ultimate Fuckwittery to do. I have learnt many bitter life lessons from this, including the fact that if at first you don't succeed, then take a swig of the 70% ethanol and get the hell out of the lab before you set something on fire, accidentally-so-totally-on-purpose.

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Anyway. I've booked a holiday outta here as soon as this thing is over. I'll have less than a few hours to recuperate from my recent hectic schedule (I've been working almost around the clock these past few days) but hell, I'll be on a plane heading off to sunnier (well, actually, rainer, given the predicted weather forecast,) climes.

Man do I need a holiday.



Right, enough procrastination, I need to get back to this stupid write-up.

Come Friday, and it will all be over.

Photographic evidence

I wasn't joking about those crosswords, you know...

I want Sky Sports NOW

It sucks not having a subscription to Sky Sports. I had to go the gym today to watch Oscar de la Hoya and Steve Forbes fight it out in 12 rounds.

What an amazing fight it was - really heated up in the last few rounds and I couldn't take my eyes off the screen.

I want to see a major fight one of these days. I don't even know how much they cost, but I'd be willing to put some money aside to be there in the audience.

Probably the bitchiest and most cynical blog-post ever

This is just an advance warning to you all - this entry is really, really bitchy and nasty and mean-spirited. So much so, that I'm probably going to disable comments after this so you don't all start throwing shit at me.

I'm not going to apologise, though.

What am I going to rant about?

The football last night, of course.

So Liverpool go crashing out at the hands of Chavski - oh, sorry - Chelsea, undeservedly so. I was really gunning for them - I thought that they were the better team by far, and played with so much passion.

And for goodness's sake, I am sick to death of hearing about Lampard.

Who exactly told him to take the penalty?

I'll be the first to admit it - a bereavement is never easy as I have recently discovered myself, unfortunately - and it must have taken strength to face the world again and make his comeback.

When he stepped forward to take the penalty, however, something inside me just cringed.

I mean, of course he was going to score. As soon as it became clear that Lampard was going to take the penalty, Liverpool might as well have just said, "Alright, fair dos, have your goal." Even if it had been a totally lame kick, a really rubbish attempt that could have easily been saved - no one would or could begrudge Lampard that goal after his personal circumstances. I'm not saying that it was a rubbish penalty that could have easily been saved. I'm just saying that I feel that the entire thing has been so overrated, and it was almost a sympathy penalty.

And now all the newspapers, banging on about how courageous he was, how amazingly brave he is and how this match meant so much to him. Well, yes, he is brave in some ways, but why, because his mother died? Well then that makes all of us here who have experienced a bereavement heroes as well.

Let's look at it objectively - being a footballer is Lampard's job, for crying out loud - he relies upon it to pay the bills, just like the rest of us have jobs and need to get back to them after time out. He's simply returning to his frickin' day job, that is all, ladies and gents, he's not doing anything spectacular or heroic. In fact, there are people here in the blogosphere who have dealt with a family bereavement and then returned to medical school and faced course problems, financial worries and hell of a lot more.

Not that I'm suggesting that Lampard hasn't got a lot to deal with - I'm not for one moment being unsympathetic over the passing away of his mother. The issue that I find annoying is how the newspapers suddenly seem to think that he's Jesus and he can do no wrong any more.

And of course, I think the real issue behind this rather ranty post is the fact that I just can't accept that Liverpool lost. :(

Isn't it great when things just work?

I ran some more experiments earlier this week, and to my joy, every single last one worked. Worked beautifully, in fact, and the data obtained will be used in my write-up.

I was so pleased with the outcome, I was upbeat and cheerful for most of the day, and as soon as I had finished analysing my data, I raced up to my supervisor's office to show the data to him. He was impressed - I've obtained some particularly nice results, and it will be great to put them in my write-up.

One of my sub-supervisors told me that in science, the highs were high, but the lows were really goddamn low, and I couldn't agree with him more.

Along this vein, I've found that I really do enjoy lab work. Weird, I never thought I would enjoy any aspect of this year whatsoever, but I really, really have, and I really do believe that doing this BSc has opened my eyes to a part of medicine which I never actually thought about before.

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My presentation and write-up deadline is looming, and I still have to finish my introduction. For goodness' sake, why can't this writer's block leave already?

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I was speaking to another BSc student, who is under another clinical academic - an honorary consultant working at the hospital. The student told me that he has sat in on his consultant's clinic once a week for the past few months, and that I should ask mine if I could sit in on his clinics.

I knew that my consultant ran these clinics, and I am interested in his branch of medicine, but it never ocurred to me to ask him if I could sit in on them. I feel like I've wasted an opportunity, here.

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I've decided I'm most definitely moving out for the next year of medical school. I received a letter for an NHS bursary application which I am going to fill out soon (though I have no idea how much it is for.)

Commuting, I have decided, is far too time-consuming and it has not been worth the money saved. I feel that my life recently has become one long train journey punctuated by brief stints at the lab or at home. I have no time to do things that I enjoy - things like going for runs, or going out with friends, or playing Mario Kart on the Wii. I have to get to sleep really early so that I can wake up and get ready in time for my train.

Now to just find a place that I don't mind paying a small fortune for, and more importantly, deciding who to live with...


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Lastly, I can't wait to vote tomorrow! Come on, fellow Londoners, make sure that you're going to use your vote!